Happy Birthday
by RGoodfellow64
Summary: Kate meets Lanie for coffee the morning after she and Rick celebrate her birthday.


Happy Birthday

by RGoodfellow64

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Disclaimer: How many times do I have to keep saying I don't own Castle? I mean, really, think about it…RGoodfellow64 creator/owner of Castle? Not in this or any other dimension.

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Early Sunday morning Kate walked into the coffee shop and immediately started to feel more awake as the wonderful aroma enveloped her. She actually paused for a moment in the doorway to take a deep breath before walking up to the short line to place her order. She looked around at all the tables and noticed that Lanie wasn't there yet. No real surprise as they were both only covering shifts and there wasn't a case to make them rush.

Kate wished that she hadn't promised to cover for Collins today. Having to get up from her boyfriend's sinfully delicious bed with the softest sheets she'd ever felt in her life took a lot of effort. Especially after last night. It was probably one of the best birthday's she could ever remember, even if they did celebrate it a week, later after Thanksgiving.

When she arrived at the counter, Kate ordered for herself and Lanie and a few minutes later found a table somewhat farther away from the others. In a popular coffee shop like this, it was the most private place they could find, and perhaps the early hour would ensure fewer patrons who might overhear. Kate was fully aware that Lanie intended to cross-examine her about last night and she didn't want anyone listening in.

As Kate took her first sip of her coffee, Lanie walked in the door, looked around and saw Kate. She gave a little wave, walked to the table, sat down and immediately said, "So?"

"Good morning to you too, Lanie," Kate replied. "Try the bear claw, it's still warm."

Lanie opened the cover on the cup in front of her and said, "Oh, hot chocolate! I'm glad you're my friend." She took a sip, and then broke off a piece of the bear claw. Chewing in obvious delight, she finally swallowed and said, "Enough with the distractions, what happened?"

"Well…" Kate began and suddenly the previous day was flashing across her mind. Her 'Birthday Weekend Extravaganza' as Rick called it, but only the one time as she'd given him a look that said she didn't want anything called an 'extravaganza' done for her.

_She should have known better than to even tell him. He knew her; often it seemed he knew her better than she did herself. He made it sound like there would be a big production with dinner at the fanciest restaurant where all the celebrities hang out, followed by, well followed by something big and overblown. At least that's what he made it sound like he was planning, and she was becoming more and more nervous as the day went on, but what happened was so sweet and simple, it set the stage for turning her into a pile of fluff._

_The loft was empty, Alexis at college and Martha out who knows where, but they left cards for her which were sweet and sappy, something she never expected, but perfect nonetheless. Then there was the dinner. Fancy? Yes. Expensive? Probably. Delivered? How he managed to get it delivered she didn't know, but the small table with candles and a white tablecloth was something she definitely didn't expect._

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lanie said, "Hello? Earth to Kate! Must have been some birthday to have you zone out like that!"

Kate smiled and said, "Oh it was Lanie, it really was."

"Since Castle is the first guy to do anything for your birthday since you dated Will, I really want to know what happened."

"We had a lovely dinner at the loft. He managed to have some swanky restaurant deliver dinner and there was just a simple table with two seats and a candle."

"Sounds romantic."

"It was Lanie. He took off my shoes and gave my feet a massage before we got to the table…you know how much I love a foot massage."

"Girl, with those heels, I'm surprised you can still walk at the end of the day. So he got you all relaxed before dinner?"

"Yeah, then we ate and he had Sinatra playing in the background."

"Sinatra? Sounds like the man really went all out for you."

"Oh he did Lanie, he really did."

"So what else happened?"

"After the most delicious crème Brule he handed me a card."

_The card. Oh God, that card made her want to cry, hold him tight, kiss him senseless and jump his bones all at the same time. There was no question about it; he gave her the most beautiful, romantic card that she'd ever received._

_The cover was simple, a beautiful font covering an embossed rose, which said, 'For the Love of my Life.' That alone made her emotions jump all over. The love of his life? With all the women he had known she was the love of his life? _

_The inside of the card was simple, the same script and the words were beautiful and so meaningful to them. 'Time flies and life can pass us by only if we let it, but our giving and understanding, encouragement and support for each other, added to friendship, laughter and love, will guarantee whatever time we have will be perfect.'_

_There was a folded piece of paper which she opened, and those were the words, the words that touched her heart, and it all started from a photograph he showed her days before…_

_They were sitting on the couch, an iPad wirelessly connected to the new 65 inch LED Smart TV in the living room, looking at photos. Specifically the photos Rick had of Kate._

"_Honestly Castle, how you haven't been arrested as a stalker by now is beyond me," Kate said as Alexis opened up yet another folder on the tablet, this one titled 'Absolute Favorites.'_

"_Dad can be super sneaky sometimes Kate," Alexis said as they started looking through the photos. They went through about a dozen when Rick said, "There it is."_

_Alexis stopped the search and they all looked at the photo on the screen. The photo was one of Kate looking at Rick, and the look in her eyes and the softness of her face showed exactly how much she cared for him. As they gazed at the photo, Martha said to Kate, "My dear that is definitely the look of love on your face."_

_Rick smiled and said, "This is one of my favorites, it was taken by Lanie."_

_Kate however was not smiling; she actually grimaced when Martha spoke._

_Seeing the look on Kate's face Martha asked, "What's the matter Kate? I thought it was obvious that you were looking at Richard with love in your eyes."_

_Rick cleared his throat and said, "It was taken a while ago Mother, before we actually got together."_

"_Well it sure looks like you were ready to be together in that photo Kate," Alexis said. "So this was just a month or so before?"_

_Rick looked at Kate and then back to Alexis, "Ahhh…" he said, but before he could say anything else Kate said, "It was almost two years ago."_

"_Two years?" Martha exclaimed. "Why on earth if you were looking at Richard like that, weren't you two together back then? I know he was already in love with you."_

"_Mother!"_

"_I was dating someone else at the time Martha."_

_Martha had opened her mouth to say something to her son when Kate spoke. After hearing those words, she lost all train of thought. Kate had looked at Richard like that when she was dating another man? Martha had a hard time getting her mind to understand how that could happen. It was obvious from the photo that Kate was in love with her son when it was taken._

_Kate saw the confusion on Martha and Alexis' faces and said, "It wasn't the smartest thing I ever did, and I'm not really proud of it either."_

_No one spoke for a few minutes as they all looked at the photo. Kate was at her desk and Rick was sitting in his chair beside her. The photo was taken from behind him as you could only see his profile as he spoke to Esposito who was standing behind Kate. Kate was looking at Rick in an unguarded moment and the look in her eyes told even her, that when Lanie took the photo, she was already in love with Castle._

_There was a touch of sadness in her voice when she asked Rick, "Is this the one you were looking at?"_

"_Yes," he replied. "It's one of my favorites."_

"_I've never seen it before."_

"_When Lanie gave it to me, with that knowing look that she gets on her face, I knew I couldn't let you see it, so I hid it in a special folder with my favorite photos of you."_

_Kate looked down at her hands clasped together in her lap and said, "God, I was really an idiot Castle, a real piece of work."_

_Kate was still engrossed looking at her hands and didn't see Martha give a quick nod to Alexis as they both carefully and quietly got up from the couch and walked out of the room, leaving Rick and Kate alone._

_Rick reached over, put his hand on her arm and said, "No Kate. We just weren't ready yet."_

"_We?" Kate asked rhetorically. "What would you have done if I told you back then that I'd dumped Josh and wanted you?"_

"_Uhhh…"_

_She smirked and said, "Exactly!"_

_He slowly started to pull his hand from her arm but she grabbed it and didn't let him. She intertwined her fingers in his and slowly turned from the photo on the screen to look at him. "There was no 'we' that wasn't ready Rick, __**I **__was the only one not ready for us to be together. __**I**__ was the one who hid in a nowhere relationship, and __**I**__ was the one who was afraid of letting myself just go with my feelings."_

"_Kate…" he began but she squeezed his hand to stop him and said, "God Castle, I knew after Dunn blew up my apartment that I was starting to have strong feelings for you, and that frightened me, because I knew even then, that what we could have was more than I ever experienced before."_

_She turned and looked into his eyes, "If you took every relationship I ever had and put them together, they're just a pale candle compared to you. Castle…" she paused as she tried to find the right words to say and then smiled, "…Rick, you're like the sun compared to them. You brought light to all my dark places and showed me they weren't as scary as I thought. That I wasn't as damaged as badly as I believed, that I could let myself just go, let my heart lead the way, and simply love you. But God, Rick, nothing about loving you is simple."_

_She looked down at their joined hands, where his thumb was softly caressing the back of her hand. He could never get enough of touching her, and she could never get enough of being touched by him. The intensity of her emotions, the depth of her feeling for him overwhelmed her for a moment and she had to take a deep breath before she continued._

"_First you were a pain, a pushy, unwanted shadow that made my life miserable. You watched everything I did, you questioned me all the time, you invaded my space and then my mind and finally my heart. You did something no man ever did before Rick, you never gave up on me. No matter how far I tried to push you away, you didn't go, because even when you weren't around physically, I couldn't get you out of my mind."_

_She looked up at the photo on the screen and said, "That photograph tells us both how foolish I was. I'm not happy with myself for what I did, and I know it's done and over with, but you need to know that at first he was a rebound because you came back after that summer and were still with Gina, but then…" Kate paused a moment, took a breath and continued, "Then he was an excuse. A reason for me to stay away from you. To not give into the feelings this photo clearly shows I already had."_

"_Kate," Rick softly said, "No matter when it was taken, no matter what was going on in our lives at the time, it's still one of my favorite photos of you." He leaned over and kissed her brow, then pulled back just a bit and whispered, "Just think, how many more favorite photos I'm going to have in the years and decades to come." He pointed to the TV, "If we move ahead a couple more you'll see a few dozen favorites from the Hamptons."_

_Kate smiled, and then gave a small laugh. "You always know the right words to say, don't you?"_

_He smiled back and said, "When they're for you Kate, the words come easy."_

_She nudged him with her shoulder and said, "I should have added sappy too."_

_He smiled and then kissed her, reminding her with his lips that he truly did love her._

"Uhh, Kate? The card? He gave you a card?" Lanie asked, breaking her thoughts.

"It was a beautiful card Lanie; he must have spent hours looking for the just the right one, because it was perfect."

Lanie asked why it was so perfect and Kate opened her purse to show it to her, but she left in her purse the note he'd put inside the card, the note where he'd placed his heart for her to read. Her fingers touched the note. She didn't need to read it to remember what it said, she had those words and that moment etched in her heart forever.

_After reading the card, she took out the paper, unfolded it and started to read. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. All she could see was his love for her, his total confidence that what they had was forever. It read, 'You are my best friend. You are the person I trust more than anyone. You are the last thought I have before I sleep and the first thought I have when I wake. You managed to take whom I was and make me want to be who I am. Never doubt that, Kate. Never. You are at once a surprise, the mystery I will never solve and the rock that I know beyond any doubt that I can always rely on. You told me we don't make sense on paper, but paper is over rated (unless it's one of my books), and you and I, we make perfect sense. I flippantly said once that yin needs yang, one without the other doesn't work, and as opposite as we may seem on the outside, what we are on the inside is amazing. Amazing and right. There is no argument to force this, there is no earth-shattering event to bring this out. This is my hand, holding yours, and telling you that I love you. I love you Kate, oh so very much. Happy Birthday, Rick.' _

_She didn't realize she was crying when she put it down, but his thumb was gently wiping away her tears as she gazed into his eyes and whispered, "I love you too Rick, so very, very much."_

"Wow, Kate, that's some card he gave you."

"Huh?"

"And judging by your face it still has the same effect as when you opened it."

Kate shook her head, bringing herself from her musings and said, "Oh yeah, Lanie, it sure does."

As Kate reached to take the card back, Lanie noticed something on her wrist. "And what is that I'm looking at?" she asked with a smile.

Kate smiled at Lanie and pulled back her sleeve to show off the bracelet on her wrist. "My present," she said with a big grin.

Lanie whistled and while she examined the tennis bracelet, Kate looked at her friend with amusement. If she only knew, Kate thought as she thought about her birthday again.

_She'd joked with Rick that she liked jewelry, having no idea that he'd already done just that. The beautiful tennis bracelet was white gold, but it was the stones and their placement that made it so special._

_Tiffany, naturally. And custom made just for her. Her birthstone was a Topaz. She had no idea that they came in blue; a blue that also managed to match his eyes when he looked at her that special way. The green stones were Peridots and reminded him of her eyes. Two by two they went around the bracelet, and after each four, two sets of blue and two of green, was a single diamond. Then another group of four followed by another diamond. It was exquisite. It was probably the most beautiful bracelet she'd ever seen. It was so romantic her tears started to fall again without her even being aware. What had she ever done in her life to deserve a man like him, she wondered and then he proved that he could indeed read her mind when he said, "I'm the one who's lucky Kate. What did I ever do to deserve _you_?" _

"Wow Kate, that's really beautiful. Where did he ever find something like this?"

"He designed it especially for me Lanie," she replied quietly. "Then he had his jeweler make it up to his specifications." She held up her arm and they both looked at the bracelet before she softly added, "Everything about this was done by Rick, Lanie. Everything."

"Sweetie, I am so happy for you I could…"

Before Lanie could say what she'd do both of their phones rang. They quickly took out the phones, looked at the screens and then looked at each other before Kate said, "Want a ride to the crime scene?"

"Yeah, I took a cab. We need to stop at my office first though."

Picking up their coffees and the remainder of their breakfast, they headed out the door to Kate's car. Work had a way of interrupting at just the most inopportune times. As Kate put the key in the ignition, she saw again the bracelet on her wrist and heard Rick's voice in her head say, "Extraordinary."

'He certainly is', she thought, even though she knew his saying it was meant for her, but that seemed to fit him as well.

'Maybe it fits us both,' his voice said again as she silently told him to be quiet and let her drive.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: We all know that Kate Beckett's birthday is Nov. 17th. If you didn't then, Surprise! Stana's birthday is in April, a Taurus. All those born in Taurus are exemplary people, talented and good looking too. Ahem, and we're usually pretty private as well. At any rate, the reason I mention Kate's birthday is I suddenly realized when finishing this up, that her telling Rick they didn't work on paper would be _after_ her birthday had passed and before this conversation. So when reading you need to just imagine that they were both working on a case on the 17th and couldn't celebrate till the next Saturday, which was after Thanksgiving. If you can't, too bad, I'm the writer and it's my story. ;-)**


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